The Risk Takers is about ordinary people, all with good ideas, who faced daunting challenges, but took a leap of faith and started their own business. The book tells the stories of the personal and professional journeys of 16 fascinating men and women who built hugely successful, multimillion dollar companies. They started with very little, opted to strike out on their own, and struggled with disappointment and failure.

1 out of 5 stars

Dont buy this.

By
Aaron
on
2018-06-12

The Psychopath Inside

A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain

Written by:
James Fallon

Narrated by:
Walter Dixon

Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
75

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
70

Story

4 out of 5 stars
70

The memoir of a neuroscientist whose research led him to a bizarre personal discovery, James Fallon had spent an entire career studying how our brains affect our behavior when his research suddenly turned personal. While studying brain scans of several family members, he discovered that one perfectly matched a pattern he’d found in the brains of serial killers. This meant one of two things: Either his family’s scans had been mixed up with those of felons or someone in his family was a psychopath.

3 out of 5 stars

a little overwhelming

By
Natalie
on
2018-06-15

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Written by:
Tom Standage

Narrated by:
Sean Runnette

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
62

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
60

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
61

Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola.

4 out of 5 stars

Good for car trips

By
Amazon Customer
on
2019-04-20

Citizen Coke

The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism

Written by:
Bartow J. Elmore

Narrated by:
William Hughes

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
21

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
21

Outsourcing and a trim corporate profile enabled Coke to scale up production of a low-price beverage and realize huge profits. But the costs shed by Coke have fallen on the public at large. Coke now uses an annual 79 billion gallons of water, an increasingly precious global resource, and its reliance on corn syrup has helped fuel our obesity crisis. Bartow J. Elmore explores Coke through its ingredients, showing how the company secured massive quantities of coca leaf, caffeine, sugar, and other inputs.

3 out of 5 stars

Glad I stuck it out...

By
Roberta Westwood
on
2018-10-03

Not a Scientist

How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science

Written by:
Dave Levitan

Narrated by:
Kevin Pariseau

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
28

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Story

4 out of 5 stars
23

In 1980, Ronald Reagan created one of the dumbest talking points of all time: "I'm not a scientist, but..." Since then, politicians have repeatedly committed egregious transgressions against scientific knowledge prefaced by this seemingly innocuous phrase. Yet, as science journalist Dave Levitan reveals, that line is just the tip of the melting iceberg when it comes to rhetorical tools wielded to attack scientific findings that don't cooperate with political agendas.

4 out of 5 stars

great book - infuriating topic

By
dylan nicholson
on
2018-09-14

How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You're an Adult

A Path to Authenticity and Awakening

Written by:
Katherine Woodward Thomas - foreword,
Ira Israel

Narrated by:
Ira Israel

Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
37

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
34

Story

4 out of 5 stars
34

Few of us are immune to the ideas we absorbed as children. We learned how to get approval or disapproval by creating the kinds of selves who would fit in and succeed with the "right" jobs, relationships, possessions, and so on. Even if we rebel against these ingrained notions by going in the opposite direction, we are still controlled by them. Either way, as adults we are often left feeling anxious or depressed because who we really are has been ignored.

3 out of 5 stars

Well written, but too "certain".

By
Sebastian Morris
on
2019-04-08

The Risk Takers

16 Women and Men Share Their Entrepreneurial Strategies for Success

Written by:
Renee Martin,
Don Martin

Narrated by:
Joe Barrett

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
13

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
13

Story

4 out of 5 stars
13

The Risk Takers is about ordinary people, all with good ideas, who faced daunting challenges, but took a leap of faith and started their own business. The book tells the stories of the personal and professional journeys of 16 fascinating men and women who built hugely successful, multimillion dollar companies. They started with very little, opted to strike out on their own, and struggled with disappointment and failure.

1 out of 5 stars

Dont buy this.

By
Aaron
on
2018-06-12

The Psychopath Inside

A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain

Written by:
James Fallon

Narrated by:
Walter Dixon

Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
75

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
70

Story

4 out of 5 stars
70

The memoir of a neuroscientist whose research led him to a bizarre personal discovery, James Fallon had spent an entire career studying how our brains affect our behavior when his research suddenly turned personal. While studying brain scans of several family members, he discovered that one perfectly matched a pattern he’d found in the brains of serial killers. This meant one of two things: Either his family’s scans had been mixed up with those of felons or someone in his family was a psychopath.

3 out of 5 stars

a little overwhelming

By
Natalie
on
2018-06-15

A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Written by:
Tom Standage

Narrated by:
Sean Runnette

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
62

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
60

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
61

Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola.

4 out of 5 stars

Good for car trips

By
Amazon Customer
on
2019-04-20

Citizen Coke

The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism

Written by:
Bartow J. Elmore

Narrated by:
William Hughes

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
21

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
21

Outsourcing and a trim corporate profile enabled Coke to scale up production of a low-price beverage and realize huge profits. But the costs shed by Coke have fallen on the public at large. Coke now uses an annual 79 billion gallons of water, an increasingly precious global resource, and its reliance on corn syrup has helped fuel our obesity crisis. Bartow J. Elmore explores Coke through its ingredients, showing how the company secured massive quantities of coca leaf, caffeine, sugar, and other inputs.

3 out of 5 stars

Glad I stuck it out...

By
Roberta Westwood
on
2018-10-03

Not a Scientist

How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science

Written by:
Dave Levitan

Narrated by:
Kevin Pariseau

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
28

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
25

Story

4 out of 5 stars
23

In 1980, Ronald Reagan created one of the dumbest talking points of all time: "I'm not a scientist, but..." Since then, politicians have repeatedly committed egregious transgressions against scientific knowledge prefaced by this seemingly innocuous phrase. Yet, as science journalist Dave Levitan reveals, that line is just the tip of the melting iceberg when it comes to rhetorical tools wielded to attack scientific findings that don't cooperate with political agendas.

4 out of 5 stars

great book - infuriating topic

By
dylan nicholson
on
2018-09-14

How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You're an Adult

A Path to Authenticity and Awakening

Written by:
Katherine Woodward Thomas - foreword,
Ira Israel

Narrated by:
Ira Israel

Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
37

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
34

Story

4 out of 5 stars
34

Few of us are immune to the ideas we absorbed as children. We learned how to get approval or disapproval by creating the kinds of selves who would fit in and succeed with the "right" jobs, relationships, possessions, and so on. Even if we rebel against these ingrained notions by going in the opposite direction, we are still controlled by them. Either way, as adults we are often left feeling anxious or depressed because who we really are has been ignored.

The world moves fast, but that doesn't mean we have to. In this best-selling mindfulness guide - it has sold more than three million copies in Korea, where it was a number-one best-seller for 41 weeks and received multiple best book of the year awards - Haemin Sunim (which means "spontaneous wisdom"), a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher born in Korea and educated in the United States, illuminates a path to inner peace and balance amid the overwhelming demands of everyday life.

4 out of 5 stars

A worthwhile listen.

By
Anonymous User
on
2018-05-17

Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior

Written by:
Mark Leary,
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Mark Leary

Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
24

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
20

Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.

5 out of 5 stars

Great summaries.

By
Anonymous User
on
2018-08-29

The Conundrum

How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse

Written by:
David Owen

Narrated by:
Patrick Lawlor

Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
21

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
21

Story

4 out of 5 stars
21

Everything you've been told about being green is wrong. The quest for a breakthrough battery or a 100-mpg car is a dangerous fantasy. We are consumers, and we like to consume greenly and efficiently. But David Owen argues that our best intentions are still at cross-purposes to our true goal: living sustainably while caring for our environment and the future of the planet. Efficiency, once considered the holy grail of our environmental problems, turns out to be part of the problem - we have little trouble turning increases in efficiency into increases in consumption.

5 out of 5 stars

We're in trouble

By
Brad Lockey
on
2019-06-19

Spartan Fit!

30 Days. Transform Your Mind. Transform Your Body. Commit to Grit.

Written by:
Joe De Sena,
John Durant

Narrated by:
Joe De Sena

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
20

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
18

Story

4 out of 5 stars
18

Joe De Sena designed the Spartan races to test overall conditioning: strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed. His signature take-no-prisoners approach to achieving physical and mental fitness has taken the endurance world by storm and inspired millions. Now, in
Spartan Fit!, De Sena breaks down that approach and gives listeners the tools they need to conquer the course.

4 out of 5 stars

Simple and strait forward

By
Eric Hunkin
on
2019-05-14

I'm Feeling Lucky

The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59

Written by:
Douglas Edwards

Narrated by:
Douglas Edwards

Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
22

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
20

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
20

Comparing Google to an ordinary business is like comparing a rocket to an Edsel. No academic analysis or bystanders account can capture it. Now Doug Edwards, Employee Number 59, offers the first inside view of Google, giving readers a chance to fully experience the bizarre mix of camaraderie and competition at this phenomenal company.
I'm Feeling Lucky captures for the first time the unique, self-invented, yet profoundly important culture of the world's most transformative corporation.

5 out of 5 stars

Word wizard

By
Amazon Customer
on
2018-07-18

The American Civil War

Written by:
Gary W. Gallagher,
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Gary W. Gallagher

Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins

Original Recording

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
12

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
11

Story

5 out of 5 stars
11

Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and well written

By
Larry
on
2019-09-08

The Power of Broke

How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage

Written by:
Daymond John,
Daniel Paisner

Narrated by:
Daymond John,
Sway Calloway

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
87

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
79

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
80

Here, the FUBU founder and star of ABC's
Shark Tank shows that, far from being a liability, broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. Why? Because starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively. It forces you to use your resources more efficiently. It forces you to connect with your customers more authentically and market your ideas more imaginatively.

3 out of 5 stars

Annoying narrator

By
Sufyan
on
2019-01-14

Goodbye, Things

The New Japanese Minimalism

Written by:
Fumio Sasaki,
Eriko Sugita - translator

Narrated by:
Keith Szarabajka

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
175

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
153

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
153

Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo - he's just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didn't absolutely need. The effects were remarkable: Sasaki gained true freedom, new focus, and a real sense of gratitude for everything around him.

3 out of 5 stars

A Regular Guys Experience

By
PBJ
on
2018-06-13

Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Written by:
Ken Albala,
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Ken Albala

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Original Recording

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
64

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
57

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
57

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."

5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

By
tc
on
2018-11-17

Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?

A Parent’s Guide to the New Teenager

Written by:
Anthony Wolf

Narrated by:
George Guidall

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
14

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
14

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
14

This is the book that made Anthony E. Wolf, Ph.D. a best-selling author.
Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? focuses on the legendary task all parents must face: raising teenagers. In this insightful and humorous audiobook, noted clinical psychologist Anthony Wolf digs into the mysteries of raising children aged 13 and up. This audiobook not only defines the physical and mental changes of growing up, but also illustrates ways to deal effectively with problems ranging from drug use to intermittent defiance.

3 out of 5 stars

Informative but outdated

By
Derek Dwyer
on
2018-06-15

Zero Waste Home

The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste

Written by:
Bea Johnson

Narrated by:
Henrietta Meire

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
44

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
40

Story

4 out of 5 stars
40

In
Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better. They now have more time together, they've cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40 percent, and they are healthier than they've ever been.

5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring!

By
Charlene Williams
on
2018-06-03

God Is Disappointed in You

Written by:
Mark Russell,
Shannon Wheeler

Narrated by:
James Urbaniak

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
75

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
70

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
69

God Is Disappointed in You is for people who would like to read the Bible...if it would just cut to the chase. Stripped of its arcane language and interminable passages, every book of the Bible is condensed down to its core message, in no more than a few pages each. Written by Mark Russell with cartoons by
New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler,
God Is Disappointed in You is a frequently hilarious, often shocking, but always accurate retelling of the Bible, including the parts selectively left out by Sunday School teachers.

5 out of 5 stars

Amusing summary of the bible.

By
Marfew
on
2018-04-30

Publisher's Summary

What drug lords learned from big business.

How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the $300 billion illegal drug business? By learning from the best, of course. From creating brand value to fine-tuning customer service, the folks running cartels have been attentive students of the strategy and tactics used by corporations such as Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.

And what can government learn to combat this scourge? By analyzing the cartels as companies, law enforcers might better understand how they work - and stop throwing away $100 billion a year in a futile effort to win the "war" against this global, highly organized business.

Your intrepid guide to the most exotic and brutal industry on earth is Tom Wainwright. Picking his way through Andean cocaine fields, Central American prisons, Colorado pot shops, and the online drug dens of the Dark Web, Wainwright provides a fresh, innovative look into the drug trade and its 250 million customers.

The cast of characters includes "Bin Laden", the Bolivian coca guide; "Old Lin", the Salvadoran gang leader; "Starboy", the millionaire New Zealand pill maker; and a cozy Mexican grandmother who cooks blueberry pancakes while plotting murder. Along with presidents, cops, and teenage hit men, they explain such matters as the business purpose for head-to-toe tattoos, how gangs decide whether to compete or collude, and why cartels care a surprising amount about corporate social responsibility.

More than just an investigation of how drug cartels do business, Narconomics is also a blueprint for how to defeat them.

Honest and in-depth

This was by far one of the most interesting books I have ever read/listened to. It gave a real view how we in North America approach narcotics incorrectly and how we fool ourselves into thinking it is going away. It changed my understanding of the illegal markets and what policy does to 'discourage' them, and helped me form new opinions. I would encourage this book to everyone, especially with marijuana being legalized in Canada and around the United States.

Entertaining and informative!

This is the book to convince you, or someone you know that we are fighting this problem wrong.

The narration is fantastic, and even more the content of the book is amazing. This book takes a deep look at HOW the drug business is run, and explains how we can disrupt it in a way that minimizes harm, stops the economic drain into organized crime, and look at the whole system instead of a part. Highly recommend.

Must read

The book is an excellent overview of the business of drug dealing from an economics perspective. The narrative is mostly neutral but the author cannot resist gently mocking the failing "war on drugs" policies on occasion. From a leftie perspective his comments are all too soft, but for a rightie they may seem the height of offense.The bottom line is that all information presented is factual and most of his conclusions have been discussed for decades in the academia.The author does not discuss why there is a war on drugs in the first place and why it persists despite overwhelming evidence of its failure. For such discussions you will have to look elsewhere. I suggest starting with the New Jim Crow...

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

A reader

Philadelphia

2016-04-11

Worthy book in the "economics explains X" genre

Since Freakonomics, there have been a lot of books that use economics to explain aspects of history or society, but Narconomics is one of the best of this genre. It examines drug cartels as if they were regular companies, and looks at how they deal with issues like hiring, distribution, and marketing (who would have thought of tattoos as an employee retention strategy?). Not only is the result engaging, but it also provides one of the most illuminating discussions of drug policy I have read.

I should mention that I am not particularly interested in the topic of drugs and drug dealers (I think I am the only person who has never seen either the Wire or Breaking Bad), but Wainwright made the subject deeply engaging, not just with breezy writing, but also by traveling to the locations and offering compelling interviews and reporting. I am, however, trained in economics, and I know a number of the scholars and papers he cites. Here Wainwright deserves a lot of credit for interpreting this material accurately and with remarkable clarity. Thus, even if you aren't interested in drugs, but just interested in economics and society in general, I think this is a great listen.

If this book has a downside, it is mostly that it is a little disjointed. It is loosely organized around topics like human resource, production, and distribution, but there isn't really a narrative to pull everything together. Still, I found myself listening for long stretches and found a lot of compelling concepts and arguments that were new to me. Wainwright is also very clear-eyed about the topic, dealing even evenhandedly with hot-button issues such as legalization and US policy in Latin America.

67 of 73 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Jolene

2016-04-23

Great book

Wonderfully thought out and made easy to understand. This is a topic touching so many people. The timing is impeccable. The economic portion was made simple enough for anyone to understand. I do not agree with the portion that knowledge of how the drug trade effects Central and South America will change the behavior of Americans and Europeans. I do however believe that regulation and taxation can lead to a windfall in the public sector just in time to save some of our failing infrastructure.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

CHET YARBROUGH

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, United States

2016-05-18

NARCONOMICS

“Narconomics” is about the business of illegal drugs. Tom Wainwright notes drug cartels are modern businesses that benefit one-percenters while liberally rewarding middle class managers with money, power, and prestige. However, these one-percenters brutally terrorize employees and kill their customers. These business moguls systematically bribe and brutalize the public.

The manufacture and sale of illegal drugs is a growth industry, diversifying its practices and products while becoming global enterprises. An irony of Wainwright’s story is the ugliness and economic success of an illegal business is abetted by governments that support the war on drugs. The substance of Wainwright’s book is that cartels are run with many of the fundamental principles (aside from terror and murder) that make international companies like Wal-Mart richly successful.

Wainwright offers a compelling argument for attacking drug cartels by removing the source of their profits. The source of profits is the consuming public; not the illegal drug manufacturers and distributors. The illegal drug manufacturers and distributors are just the cost of doing business; not the source of profit.

Wainwright notes that drug cartels have already diversified; i.e. they are human traffickers, and extortion consortiums. The glimmer of hope is that human trafficking and extortion do not pander to the human desire for escape offered by drugs. Government agencies and the general public are equally repulsed by human trafficking, murder, and extortion. Governments and the general public are more likely to cooperate in eradicating that type of criminal activity; less so with drug addiction.

Decriminalize drug use, cure the public of its need for drugs or at least treat the addicted, and drug cartels have no motive to be in the business. There is no simple or cheap alternative to “the war on drugs” but there is a history that shows war on manufacturers and distributors of illegal drugs does not work. As long as the consumer wants the product, manufacturers and distributors will figure out how to supply the demand. Consumer demand is the driver behind the wheel of “Narconomics”. Treat the drug addicted, decriminalize and govern the use of drugs, and educate the public on the consequence of drug use. These actions, like the ban on smoking in public areas, will not end addiction but it will change the drug cartel industry into a criminal enterprise that most will recognize and despise.

38 of 42 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

J. Jorgenson

Manchester, NH USA

2016-05-05

Fantastic and challenging read

Tom Wainwright has penned an outstanding book looking at drugs as business. What he finds challenges many of our deepest held assumptions on how to tackle drugs policy. It's a great book that everyone, especially policymakers, should read.

As for the narration, Brian Hutchison does an excellent job, although it is odd to hear Briticisms in an American accent.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Eventus

2016-06-08

Very interesting information and well researched.

Very interesting book, although i don't think it was the authors' intent but it makes a strong case for legalization of all narcotics, in my opinion. Although it does lean more toward pro government action, in my view after reading the book I get the feeling governments are essentially useless and powerless to stop the industry. If they can't even keep it out of prisons, facilities which are completely dominated by government, there is no way governments can even slow it down in the rest of the economy. This is proven by the growing usage statistics from around the world. Instead the only real solution is education and rehab. Book does a great job exploring the industry. learned a lot

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Ian David Provencher

Plainfield, CT

2016-05-09

Extremely interesting

Very interesting. A very progressive way of looking at the economy of drugs. A lot of logical wisdom packed in here.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Felipe Alves

2016-12-15

Great book, miscast narrator

The book is excellent, it explains very clearly how the narcotics business works and which are its weak points. The narrator does a good job, but is sadly miscast: the american accent would not be a problem if the author did not mention he is British so often, and some foreign words were so mispronounced as to be unrecognizeable.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

funkyman33

Ottawa, Canada

2016-12-06

An insightful look into the business of cartels

This was a great book. It provided amazing insight into the drug trade, how it functions, and the problem with our current "War on Drugs". The only major weakness was a minimization of the opioid epidemic currently happening in North America. While opioids were mentioned, they were reduced to a doctor-created problem and the author didn't go into much detail regarding the current steep rise in addiction. This can be excused by the fact that the book was published before the epidemic became widely known. I would highly recommend this book!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Matt

West Mifflin, PA, United States

2016-04-18

Awesome book

If you like Freakonomics or Gladwell, you'll love this book. I wish Tom Wainwright had written another book--I'd be buying it right now.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Barbara Voss

2017-01-25

Poor narration

The subject matter was ok, not a lot of new info. You but the narrator's inability to pronounce basic Spanish words was really irritating. He has a pleasant voice and pace but is a bad pick for a book about Latin America.